Flashbelt slide show
At Flashbelt, a Flash conference in Minneapolis in June 2009, a lightning talk slide show featured the lower half of a women's body, with crude drawings in a Flash graphic editor, of a penis. Then another penis drawing with animated ejaculation on a photo of a woman's face. Men's responses to women's and men's complaints about this presentation included explanations that that's just how "the Flash community" is; that's the personality of the developer who gave the talk and everyone accepts it (He's just like that); women shouldn't be too sensitive or prudish; it was humor. The Flashbelt organizers quickly responded with a news post. The link may be impermanent and I can't find a permalink, so here is the post in full: : A note from Dave about Hoss Gifford's session at Flashbelt. :While I didn't see the entire presentation myself, I understand that there were several instances that attendees found offensive. I have been told that several of his images and comments created made female attendees feel uncomfortable, and essentially objectified women. My vision for Flashbelt is an environment where every attendee feels comfortable and welcome, and everyone grows together. Gender balance and equity is important to me. I consider myself a feminist and don't hesitate to say it. :When a room that is 80% men is laughing at jokes that make women feel uncomfortable, it has an effect on the atmosphere of our community. And I don't see that as a positive effect. We need to work together. It's better for everyone. :I try very hard to make all of the attendees comfortable and welcome. I highly value my female attendees and am aware that they make up an important part of the Flashbelt audience and the design and development community. I make an intentional effort to bring female professionals to speak at the event. I understand the gender imbalance in this industry and I hope Flashbelt can serve to to bring people together and help them improve their skill sets. Over the last 6 years I believe it has done this. This single instance is a setback, but I know it is not a representation of the other 100+ speakers and sessions I've presented at Flashbelt over the last 6 years. :Be assured I take this seriously and I feel pretty lousy about it. :As for why this happened, I'm still working that out, but somewhere I dropped the ball. I apologize for that. I accept responsibility. I'll focus on avoiding similar mistakes in the future. :I have to footnote this with the fact that I've known Hoss for a few years, and I think of him as teddy bear. In person he's a warm, friendly person, and respectful. This doesn't excuse his problematic session. We have spoken and I know he is aware of the effect of his presentation. :Sincerely, - dave schroeder - Flashbelt Producer Other responses * Prude or professional? * Flashbelt: Fantastic conference, with a wake-up call : "I’ve had the perennial conversation with many of the conference organizers: “How do we get more women involved?!” They all say they can’t find females who are willing to stand up and speak. It is truly a chicken-and-egg problem. It stands to reason that a woman may not want to show up, let alone speak, if she feels she’ll be putting herself out there to be disrespected or objectified. It’s not easy being a woman in a field dominated by men, and in some cases, boys." * Spotted: more sexist behaviour in tech world * Minneapolis Flashbelt conference gets pornographic Category:Incidents